Chapter 213
Chapter 213
Chapter 213: Gains (2)
Translation: godtl
An elegant and refined stone structure.
At the center of this place, reminiscent of an ancient deity's temple, stood five thrones.
And from one of those thrones—
"This cannot be!!"
A furious roar erupted.
The grayish-green eyes hovering above it seemed just as agitated as the roar itself.
Her elongated pupils dilated and contracted incessantly.
It wasn't hard to understand why.
"Etra failed?! Not only did she fail, but she didn't even return?!"
Ancient Dragon Etra.
For Etra—the Great Matriarch of the Dragonkin and the Second Messenger of the Second Dragon Emperor—to fail was one thing.
But to vanish without a trace?
Practically speaking, it wasn't just silence.
Everyone present knew she had likely met her end.
And among the three pairs of eyes silently watching the Second Dragon Emperor's rage—
"Great Matriarch. You must calm yourself."
A pair of eyes, cold and composed in their grayish-brown hue.
The Third Dragon Emperor, Apophis, spoke in a measured tone.
"Etra's failure is indeed shocking, but right now, there are other matters that demand your attention more, are there not?"
The mere fact that an Ancient Dragon had fallen to a single human.
Taken at face value, it was an event that should have shaken the entire Dragon Realm.
But for the Dragon Emperors, the current rulers of the Dragon Realm, there were more pressing concerns.
As if in response—
"Apophis is right. Mother, chaos has erupted within the Galaxy Arena."
Eyes of deep violet.
The Fourth Dragon Emperor, Vritra, nodded with visible displeasure.
"At your request, we deployed most of the council members who had influence in this Guild War. Now, it looks like they'll all be wiped out."
Her voice was sullen as she glanced at the grayish-green eyes of the Second Dragon Emperor, Echidna.
Apophis turned to Vritra and asked,
"So, Vritra. Does that mean your connections have been exposed?"
"Yes. From the Elders entertained at the Cradle of Pleasure to the Lower Council Members under my control—over 90% are being purged."
"Even the Elders are being purged?"
"Of course. The Administrators have stepped in. Do you think the Elders' necks are any safer?"
Though Apophis had no fault in this matter.
Vritra's tone was biting.
She had no choice.
From her position, she couldn't possibly lash out at the Great Matriarch of the Dragonkin, the Second Dragon Emperor Echidna herself.
Apophis understood this well.
"If the Administrators have stepped in... the situation is more severe than I thought."
He continued without further comment.
"If they're being purged by the Administrators, those Elders can't be reused, can they?"
"Right. Once expelled for misconduct, they can never return to the Council."
"Hmm..."
Apophis' hum grew deeper.
"Even after going so far as to use the Cradle of Pleasure for leverage... To lose everything like this..."
"Thanks to that, I couldn't recover a single bit of the karma invested in the Elders. The Lower Council Members go without saying."
A pure deficit.
That was Vritra's current situation.
"So for a while, I'm not even going to approach any council members, no matter how low-ranking."
"A wise choice. It's best to refrain from any underhanded dealings for the time being."
Apophis nodded in agreement with Vritra.
Yet his eyes remained tense.
The reason was simple.
"And the damage to the Council alone is already this severe..."
The fallout from this incident wasn't limited to what had been mentioned so far.
Apophis turned to the pair of deep blue eyes that had remained silent until now.
"Nidhogg. You received the official notice from the Galaxy Arena, didn't you?"
He addressed the Fifth Dragon Emperor, Nidhogg.
"I did. I've already shared everything, haven't I?"
"I've seen it. I was just wondering if they left any additional remarks outside the official notice."
"Ah... There was one thing."
Was it disbelief?
"Seems the Administrators did move, just as Vritra said."
"Meaning...?"
"Yeah. The notice was sent by the Administrators themselves. With a warning mixed in, no less."
Nidhogg let out a hollow laugh, his voice tinged with irritation.
"'We didn't expect you to act so recklessly. Thank you for finally giving us a pretext.' That's what they said."
"Hah."
At that, Apophis also smirked bitterly.
"So they're using this incident as a pretext to impose full sanctions against us?"
"Most likely. The difference between having prior offenses and not is significant."
"Hmm. Which Administrator was it?"
"That much I don't know. Since when do those bastards reveal who they are individually?"
"Fair point."
Apophis let out a sigh.
His gaze turned toward the center where the five thrones were gathered.
There.
Fwoosh.
A golden-adorned official document from the Galaxy Arena materialized.
Apophis' eyes moved to the very top of the document.
And then.
"A permanent 10% reduction in awakening rates for Dragonkin players, along with a 10% decrease in the appearance rate of high-grade traits."
His voice trailed off gradually as he read down the document.
"Additionally, for the next six months, a 20% reduction in experience and rewards across all rank tiers in the Dimensional Dragon Realm, a 10% decrease in the potency of all stats and traits, and a suspension of Death Exemption Ticket sales in the achievement store..."
The further Apophis read, the more his voice faded.
To which—
"Hah! This is absolute madness."
Nidhogg's sneering voice followed.
And rightfully so.
"A significant number of players will voice their discontent."
For six months, experience, rewards, and the potency of all stats and traits—everything directly tied to their specs—would be penalized.
"Well, of course they'll complain. Especially the top-tier players—they'll be furious."
For high-ranking players, even minor numerical changes had massive repercussions.
Moreover.
"Vritra, this is a severe blow to the lower-tier players as well."
"Oh my, who could've guessed? With the suspension of Death Exemption Ticket sales, they'll be walking on thin ice for six months."
The halt in sales of Death Exemption Tickets—which guaranteed life security—meant that lower-tier players, who already had little to their names, would face significant constraints on their growth.
And all of this—
"So what now? Should we just issue a six-month Arena ban for all of them~?"
—applied to every Dragonkin player hailing from the Dragon Realm.
Even before considering the staggering numbers involved—
"What nonsense! The Black Smeltery's reconstruction is far from complete. If we block the Arena now, how are we supposed to procure resources?"
"Oh my~ So testy. It's just a figure of speech. But tell me, if we let them continue in the Arena without Death Exemption Tickets? Are we just going to let all our little ones die~? Is that it?"
The byproducts of the Arena circulated within the Dragon Realm thanks to Dragonkin players.
This supply chain itself would take a massive hit.
It was a factor that would profoundly impact the Dragon Realm.
"I truly don't understand how someone like you ascended to the position of Dragon Emperor."
"Honestly, anyone would think you're the emperor of some grand empire~. So, Nidhogg, what's your rank again?"
"You—!"
Crackle!
Vritra and Nidhogg, who knew each other all too well, immediately clashed.
And as always—
"Enough. Now is not the time for infighting among ourselves."
The 3rd Dragon Emperor, Apophis, intervened to quell the dispute.
"We'll have to release the Death Exemption Tickets ourselves. As for the remaining penalties, we'll have to compensate by unlocking the Armory and lending out high-grade items."
He proposed a solution.
Vritra's pupils instantly narrowed.
"Ridiculous. Do you think we can just print Death Exemption Tickets out of thin air? What about the causality cost?"
"And even if we lend out items from the Armory, there's no guarantee of 100% retrieval, is there? Players who die in the Arena won't return. So how do you plan to account for the losses?"
Nidhogg, too, immediately voiced his dissatisfaction.
Apophis took a moment to steady his emotions.
"This is the consequence of our mistake. There's no avoiding it. Besides..."
He closed his eyes briefly before responding.
"The earlier penalties can be mitigated somehow, but the permanent ones... there's no way around those."
A permanent 10% reduction in awakening rates for Dragonkin players.
On top of that, a 10% drop in high-grade trait appearance rates.
As long as they continued participating in the Galaxy Arena—
"We've lost a part of our future."
This was no different from inflicting a devastating blow to the future of the Dragonkin.
"Then let's not waste time arguing over a mere six-month penalty."
As if in agreement with Apophis' words,
"Tch."
"Ugh."
Nidhogg and Vritra sighed, collecting themselves.
Naturally, their gazes flickered toward the pair of silent, jade-green eyes.
They shot the Second Dragon Emperor a displeased glance.
Then—
Whoosh.
Above the last remaining empty throne, a pair of crimson-black eyes materialized.
"First Dragon Emperor."
"First Dragon Emperor."
Briefly.
Yet with due formality, the three Dragon Emperors greeted him.
The First Dragon Emperor, Cruach, swept his indifferent gaze over them before—
"Mother. You've committed an absurd act."
He turned immediately to the Second Dragon Emperor, Echidna.
"If you were going to defy my orders, you should have at least ensured success."
"I have nothing to say in my defense. The fault is entirely mine."
Echidna lowered her gaze.
Cruach stared at her in silence for a long moment.
Then—
"As compensation for this penalty—from the causality required to produce Death Exemption Tickets to the items that will be loaned out—"
His voice grew unnaturally bureaucratic.
"You will take full responsibility for everything. Second Dragon Emperor."
At her son's dry, emotionless words,
"...I shall comply."
Her jade-green eyes closed weakly.
Ranker's Palace.
Having finished the Guild War schedule and returned home, Si-mun was—
"Hyung! Are you okay?!"
—immediately met by his younger brother's anxious welcome and spent a while nursing his exhaustion.
Fortunately,
"I got the gist from Jin-uk sunbae. The Galaxy Arena told you to keep quiet, right?"
Perhaps because Park Jin-uk had already contacted him,
"Still, tell me what you can. Ivan Ivanov was assassinated, wasn't he?"
The kid had a rough idea of what had happened during the Guild War, so he refrained from excessive questioning.
"Uh... Mal-suk-ah? There's a call for you..."
"A call?"
"Yeah."
"That's weird? If someone needs to contact me, they should call me directly. Why you? Who is it?"
"Well... come outside for a sec."
Taking Go Mal-suk away abruptly under the pretense of the call, Lee Yu-jeong signaled,
"You've had a rough time. You won't be able to share the details anyway. Go inside and rest."
"You've worked hard, Si-mun-nim. I'll submit the Guild War report as soon as it's ready."
Kim Si-hyeok and Park Jin-uk, who had been conversing, also left shortly after.
Now alone, Si-mun—
"Whew!"
—flung himself onto the bed in his lab.
The lightly packed suitcase from the short Guild War period—
"Hyun-ah."
"Thanks."
The Philosopher's Stone swiftly organized everything with its mechanical arms.
As if waiting for this moment—
"Daddy!"
Kkyu-ung!
Si-yeon and Kkyu-ung burst onto the bed.
Si-mun gathered the two little troublemakers into his arms.
"Si-yeon, were you playing nicely? Kkyu-ung too?"
"Mm! Kkyu-ung and I played making potions!"
Kkyuuu~.
He rolled around with the two energetic rascals for a while before—
"Kkyu-ung! Let's go to Simdrasil and play hide-and-seek this time!"
Kyak!
Si-yeon and Kkyu-ung dashed off to burn their overflowing energy.
"Alright! Guess I'll check the guild bonuses too."
Stretching, Si-mun opened the reward window he had set aside during his return.
[Congratulations! You have won the Guild War.]
[You have achieved the accomplishment 'First Guild War Victory'.]
[You have earned 3,000 Achievement Points.]
The Achievement Points granted for the Guild War victory.
'I spent 50,000 points on Kkyu-ung's synthesis. This is sweet.'
The birth of the Fairy Dragon.
Si-mun had spent 50,000 Achievement Points on the synthesis process for him.
Of course, he had received more than enough compensation in return—so much that it felt excessive.
But for Si-mun, whose combat power was directly tied to Achievement Points, this was a fitting reward.
He checked his current total.
'So that makes 13,300 Achievement Points in total...'
Since the cost of Ars Magna had dropped from 5,000 to 3,000 points,
it was now a sufficient amount to handle emergencies.
Next—
[As a reward for winning the Guild War, a Guild Bonus has been granted.]
[The Guild Bonus will remain active until the next Guild War concludes.]
[The guild bonus effect has tripled in size.]
[The guild member limit has expanded to 90.]
[Guild members' item acquisition rate has increased by 15%.]
Just as promised.
The effect of the guild bonus, now three times larger.
Si-mun carefully read through the details.
'Originally, achieving just one victory would grant an additional 30 members and a 5% item acquisition rate increase for anyone... So tripling it fits perfectly.'
Moreover.
'An increase of 90 members? The Achievement Points really came through!'
Unlike other players.
For Si-mun, to whom Achievement Points were as vital as blood and flesh, the 90-member increase was a significant advantage.
From the moment he had been invited as Korea's representative to the Guild War.
He had participated with the basic reward of a 30-member increase in mind from the start.
Additionally.
[As a consolation reward, an 'Unidentified Divine Artifact' has been granted.]
Alongside the promise of tripling the rewards.
Compensation to replace the Weaver of the Boundary's Divine Artifact had also been provided.
Si-mun immediately opened his inventory to inspect it.
[Unidentified Divine Artifact]
Grade:?
A masterless Divine Artifact created at Player Kim Si-mun's request.
Only Player Kim Si-mun can designate the owner of this artifact.
Though its grade wasn't displayed.
And the description was sparse, nothing more than a plain platinum fragment.
[Constellation Black Goat, Heavenly Demon, and Baal swallow hard as they gaze upon the Divine Artifact.]
[Constellations Zeus, Odin, and Ra stare intently at the Divine Artifact.]
The reactions of the Constellations observing Si-mun were immediately apparent.
'The performance is definitely solid.'
Satisfied, Si-mun smiled and returned the artifact to his inventory.
Soon after.
'By now, the Dragonkin must have been penalized, right?'
His satisfied smile twisted into a smug one.
'Imposing debuffs on all rank tiers from the Dragon Realm for half a year and even banning the sale of Death Exemption Tickets... They must be absolutely livid.'
Especially the ban on Death Exemption Tickets—a condition Si-mun had pushed for as his top priority.
'Now the Dragon Emperors will have to expend their own power to create and distribute Death Exemption Tickets. The damage must be substantial.'
Thus, the suspension of Death Exemption Ticket sales was an immediate and painful blow.
On top of that.
'And the most important part—the permanent penalty has been applied too.'
A permanent 10% reduction.
Whether applied to food, economy, population, or any other sector on a national scale for Earth.
This figure would have an enormous impact.
And yet, it was being applied to the entire Dragonkin race?
'This is what it means to beat the Dragonkin without lifting a finger.'
The scale of damage caused would be dozens, no, hundreds of times greater than the number of Dragonkin Si-mun could personally slay in his lifetime.
"Ah. Just imagining it is satisfying enough."
Si-mun's face melted into a blissful grin.
Then.
"Ah, right. Come to think of it, autumn isn't far off, is it?"
A thought flashed through Si-mun's mind.
'It was around this autumn, wasn't it? When that incident happens in Chernozem.'
Starting from southwestern Russia, passing through Ukraine.
Stretching all the way to Eastern Europe, the ancient black soil region renowned as the world's largest grain-producing belt.
A fairly significant event was set to occur in Chernozem.
"Hmm..."
Si-mun let out a small sigh.
Then.
'Well, there's still time until then. And I've already made contact with Nikolai.'
Entering Chernozem itself shouldn't be too difficult.
"I'll think about it when the time comes..."
Having sorted his thoughts, Si-mun got up from the bed.
And grabbed the access device placed not too far away.
At that.
-Huh? You're jumping into the Arena already?
The Philosopher's Stone, which had been working inside a nearby flask, floated over.
"Yeah."
-Seriously, Oppa. It's only been a few hours since you got back from the Guild War.
"So what? The Guild War was an event Arena, not my Arena."
Meaning my stats haven't gone up, right?
At Si-mun's words, the Philosopher's Stone shook its head in exasperation.
-I swear. You're an Arena addict.
"If you're going to call me anything, call me a diligent and earnest hero working for the world."
-......Oppa. Did you eat something weird in Russia? What's with the sudden nonsense?
"......."
Faced with the Philosopher's Stone's deadly serious question.
Si-mun couldn't bring himself to say,
'It was just a random joke...'
Swallowing his sigh, he put on the access device.
[Welcome to the Galaxy Arena.]
A familiar message greeted the slightly embarrassed Si-mun.
But then.
[Player Kim Si-mun's level cannot be adjusted even by MMR in the current rank tier.]
[You have been assigned a Diamond-rank Promotion Match.]
[Though you belong to an irregular Arena dimension, you are currently participating in the regular Arena.]
[Would you like to assign the Promotion Match to the regular Arena? (Yes / No)]
The following message was entirely different.